When I cast Simulacrum to make a copy of a creature with a feature like Rangers Companion, do I get a free animal companion to go with it?

Question

The Simulacrum spell contains an interesting clause.

It appears to be the same as the original, but it has half the creature's hit point maximum and is formed without any Equipment. Otherwise, the Illusion uses all the Statistics of the creature it duplicates.

Since the Companion feature is part of a creatures statistics, this means that it should get duplicated, I think. So if I were to duplicate a creature that has a feature like Rangers Companion (or something similar), does the animal companion automatically come with it?

Related questions that would have an answer based on the answer to the primary question:

• If we don't get a free companion, can the simulacra bond with a new one?

• If we do get one, would it also be an illusion, or is it a real flesh-and-blood creature?

• If the Simulacra dies, does the companion instantly die as well?

• If the companion dies, can the Simulacra bond with a new companion?

Answer 1

RAW: Rangers Companion is poorly written

For a normal ranger hitting level 3 and suddenly having a bonded beast doesn't make much narrative sense to me, but as written the feature states

you gain a beast companion

There is no how, when or where, you just have one when you wake up.

As such going with this RAW interpretation the simulacrum would just magically have one in the same way the ranger did when they first obtained this feature.

Maybe when you finish casting the spell you hear the sound of trash cans outside being knocked over and when you investigate you find a bear which magically knows about the simulacrum and is coming to protect it.. because magic.

Narratively I don't think that makes sense

When I ran with a beastmaster ranger in one of my campaigns I made her spend the 8 hours to actually bond with an animal because that seems to be the intent (RAI) of the ability, based on the last part.

If the beast dies, you can obtain a new companion by spending 8 hours magically bonding with a beast that isn't hostile to you and that meets the requirements.

So I would rule that the simulacrum gains the ability to bond with a beast, but doesn't automatically gain one.

Either way, once the beast arrives it is as real as it is for the ranger. And your simulacrum is free to spend 8 hours after every single fight bonding with a new companion because the last one died, just like a normal ranger :p

Answer 2

Yes. Ranger (simulacrum) gets a companion and it is not an illusion.

tl;dr

• The simulacrum ranger gets a companion
• The companion is a beast
• The companion acts on it's own when the simulacrum ranger dies.
• The simulacrum ranger can bond with a new beast if it's companion dies.

Companion is a regular companion.

The ranger class feature specifies a beast. So long as the simulacrum is 3rd level or higher, by the feature, it gets to choose a beast companion.

At 3rd level, you gain a beast companion that accompanies you on your adventures and is trained to fight alongside you. Choose a beast that is no larger than Medium and that has a challenge rating of 1/4 or lower.

The bonding a new beast provision is in the event the companion dies. In this case, the companion did not die.

If the beast dies, you can obtain a new companion by spending 8 hours magically bonding with a beast...

This clause would be invoked by a ranger (simulacrum or not) in the event their companion dies.

When Simulacrum dies, the beast acts on its own

Being dead is a rather extreme form of absence, and the class feature has instructions for that eventuality:

If you are incapacitated or absent, the beast acts on its own...

Simulacra don't need to have been extant at time of level up to gain the feature.

For example, a simulacra of a high level paladin would be able to cast spells, despite not being around to "have learned" them.

By 2nd level, you have learned to draw on divine magic through meditation and prayer to cast spells as a cleric does.